Ulteo Virtual Desktop FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: what are the 'me' and 'root' passwords?

A: 'me' password is 'me' and 'root' password is 'root'

Q2: You list XP and Vista as supported, is there any reason why it wouldn't run on 2K? (2K Pro SP4 to be precise)

A: The reason is that we would have to build a special package to support W2K and we have to focus work on essential things for now. A W2K version will be available later.

Q3: Can I install extra software onto the virtual linux Desktop, or am I only able to use the bundled applications? If so, how?

A: You can already benefit from many other apps by going to the panel, select "Desktop apps" or "Games", and switch to "Edge" mode in "other settings". This will add a 2GB compressed layer with many apps that you can choose from "All apps" in the panel. It will take a little time to download though, and once done you have to restart the VD.

An other way is that you use dpkg -i as root. Even if it will run fine at the begining, but we do not recommend it because it will break the consistency of the system when your system will upgrade from the net to more recent version of libs and apps.

Explaination: the Ulteo system is made of several read-only "layers" (compressed squashfs files) + one read-write that are unioned as a whole filesystem at boot time. The RW layer has precedence on other layers. So when you install a new package manually, it will be written to the RW layer and hide what is already in the RO layers.

We're looking for ways to circumvent these issues.

Q4: Does the Virtual Desktop support proxy settings?

Not at the moment, but we are working on it

Q5: How does it install / where does it live? in a file on the windows FS?

A: The Virtual Desktop contains a ~5GB virtual filesystem as a diskfile in your Windows directories where "everything" occurs.

Q6: I'm asuming the file C:\Program Files\Ulteo\Virtual Desktop\os\vdisk is the filesystem for ulteo virtual desktop. Is there a way to mount this drive in widows?

A: Yes it's possible, for instance using this application: http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader You can access to the Ulteo vdisk using "Mount Image" feature.

Q7: Will I be able to use the linux command line (CLI) on the windows filesystem?

You should be able to use the linux CLI by running Konsole (from the menu), but you will see only the Linux environment and Linux processes.

Q8: Where can I ask questions, report bugs or discuss the Ulteo Virtual Desktop?

A: You can discuss the VD and ask question either on the Ulteo "discuss" mailing-list or on the Ulteo forums (in the devel section of the website). You can report bugs or send suggestions to our bugtracker at http://bugs.ulteo.com

The following applies mostly to Ulteo Virtual Desktop Beta2:

Q9: How to mount other Windows drives/directories?

A: In the Ulteo Virtual Desktop Beta2, "C:" is already available. If you need to mount other drives, proceed to the following:

Assuming that you have already installed and run the virtual desktop successfully, if, for instance, you want to access ''D:Pictures'':

• shutdown the virtual desktop
• go to ''C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataUlteoShared''
• create a '''txt''' file called ''Pictures.txt''
• open it and write on only one line : D:Pictures
• start the virtual desktop

Then, you should normally see a Pictures directory appear on your home desktop.

Q10: How to Customize colinux/Pulse audio/Xming commands?

A: you have to edit C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataUlteostartup.conf

Q11: How to resize the vdisk?

A: Proceed to the following:

• resize_vdisk.exe --new-size=XX
• into the virtual desktop, remove the directory /mnt/slash
• reboot the VD